


Freedom

by jacquelee



Series: Let's Kill Varrick in as Many Ways as Possible [1]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Community: gameofcards, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 12:52:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2851421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jacquelee/pseuds/jacquelee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alternate ending for Legend of Korra. Major character death.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Freedom

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 'fix it' challenge at [Game of Cards](http://gameofcards.livejournal.com) in which the goal was to rewrite unsatisfying show endings. Obviously, Legend of Korra was the first show that came to mind for me, as the ending was absolutely abysmal and harmful - and I don't mean the very last two minutes everyone is going on about. Those stayed, they're the only redeeming part in the whole show.

“My condolences.”

“Thank you.” 

“I am so sorry for you, he died too young and he was such a great person.”

“Thank you. He really was.” 

“My sincere condolences and all the best wishes for your future.” 

“Thank you.” 

Zhu Li wondered how many more of these empty words she would have to hear, how much longer she would have to pretend to be grieving, to pretend to be sad about something that in actuality made her heart sing like it hadn’t done in years and made her want to dance down the streets and yell ‘I’m free! Free! Finally free!’. 

But obviously she had to contain her feelings for now, she had to pretend to actually feel sorry that her abuser, the man who controlled her every step for so many years, who prevented her from even having her own free thoughts, let alone any other things she might have wanted to do in her life was finally gone. For years, her life only revolved around him, his thoughts, his wishes. 

Not any longer. Never again. She still didn’t know how conscious it had been to not push the button, to let Varrick die in the Hummingbird instead of ejecting both of them. She just knew that suddenly her future had flashed in front of her eyes, a future in which she would only ever be Varrick’s wife, his possession. She had realized before that he would never love her as an actual person, that he didn’t even know her as an actual person and didn’t want to, but she had always been too afraid, too intimidated, too cautious about what he could do to her if she failed to actually do something drastic. 

Until that moment. Until she had a choice in a split second and made it. The first independent choice she had made in years. No matter how conscious it had been, how much she actually planned on killing him, she did not regret it. She knew, she would do it again. She knew that this had been the only way to be free, to have a chance of her own life, to be herself. 

Whoever that actually was. She wasn’t yet very sure of that, so far everything was in a haze of happiness and being overwhelmed by all the possibilities. She knew she wanted to work as an inventor and lead the company into the future – as most of Varrick’s inventions had been her idea anyways, she didn’t have any doubts that it would be easy for her to take the company over. 

And since everyone knew that she was Varrick’s closest ‘friend’ and since she told everyone about the proposal and made sure to act appropriately sad and distraught over the awful accident that led to his unfortunate demise, nobody questioned her taking over Varrick Industries. In the last two weeks since Varrick’s death, she had made plans for working together with Asami and Hiroshi to join Future Industries and Varrick Industries into one successful company, with them having full control over their own departments and their own inventions and her providing all the resources and money Varrick left. 

The future company would be called Future Corp, since Zhu Li didn’t want anything, not even a name, to remind her of her abuser and everyone understood that she didn’t want to have a constant reminder that the man she supposedly loved was dead. 

With Hiroshi rehabilitated by his acts during Kuvira’s attack, Zhu Li had no doubt that he and Asami would make Future Corp a far better company than Varrick ever could have. They already planned on better facilities and better pay for employees, better company policies and over all Zhu Li was sure their future company would have a far better atmosphere than Varrick Industries ever had, and would serve the public much better. 

Looking through the lines of condolers, Zhu Li noticed that Asami had left the table on which she and her father had been sitting. Korra was also absent and Zhu Li hoped that the two of them would get some time in to talk about everything they hadn’t said yet, everything that needed to be said for them to build a future together. Zhu Li had picked up on both girls’ feelings a long time ago, so she wasn’t surprised at all that they were stealing a little time alone together now. 

And when Asami came back a few minutes later and approached her asking if it would be okay for her to leave the company’s actual leadership in Republic city in Zhu Li’s and Hiroshi’s hands, albeit temporary, because she herself wanted to go on a vacation with the Avatar, it didn’t very much sound like a temporary thing at all. Zhu Li obviously agreed and assured Asami that it would be absolutely okay for her to travel with the Avatar and work on her inventions all around the world, while sending them back to Zhu Li and Hiroshi at the headquarters in Republic City. 

Asami seemed very relieved to hear that and Zhu Li was happy that her instincts didn’t fool her. There was something between Asami and Korra and she wished both of them only happiness. She herself was happier than she had been in years. She didn’t know what exactly she would do after the funeral, after she finally put Varrick and all his abuse behind her, but she knew that whatever she would do, it would be her decision, her life. 

Only hers.


End file.
